You can upload a file to Wikitravel using the Special:Upload page. Although it's possible to upload other kinds of files, most people use this feature to upload images. See our image policy for how, when, and why to upload images to Wikitravel Shared.

Where to upload?

In nearly all cases, it is beneficial to upload files to Wikitravel Shared, as this allows other language versions easy access to the file. The lingua franca of Wikitravel Shared is English, and the file name you choose for your file(s) must be in english. It is best to upload even language-specific images such as maps, diagrams, or other images with explanatory text on them, because this information can be translated, or serve as a reference for work in other languages.

How to upload?

To upload a file, go to the upload page and enter the name of the file on your local hard drive (or whatever) in the box marked Filename. If you're using a reasonably good Web browser, there should be a button marked Browse, which will let you pick out a file on your hard drive without having to type the name in by hand. Please make sure that the file name is descriptive (e.g., Paris_Eiffel_Tower.jpg). Do not leave the filename as it is off your camera, eg. IM001005.JPG, as this is not useful to other contributors.

Upload summary

In the Summary box, put in a summary of where the file came from and what it is. To make sure this information is both complete and formatted correctly, click on the link below the Summary box that looks like this: {{Imagecredit|credit=|captureDate=|location=|source=|caption=|description=}}. This will automatically paste in the Imagecredit template, which you should then fill out in full—at a bare minimum, you must fill in the "credit," "location," "source," and "caption" fields.

Here are descriptions of what belongs in each of the upload summary fields:

What is this file depicting? What is this file? (e.g., Black Rock Valley)

description=

Is there anything else relevant we should know about this file? (e.g., A large basalt flow just northeast of Cedar Breaks National Monument)

If you have taken the file from another website, please provide a direct link to the file on its original website in the "source" field. Note: Although this template is called "Image credit," you can and should use it for all types of files, not just images.

Example upload summary

Here is an example of a properly completed upload summary:

{{Imagecredit|credit=Peter Fitzgerald|captureDate=30 April 2006|location=Utah|source=myself|caption=Lake Powell|description=At the bottom of Hole in the Rock, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area}}

Here is what the example will look like after uploading the file:

Lake Powell

At the bottom of Hole in the Rock, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Image Details

Source-specific image credit templates

Because so many of our copyleft-compatible images come from just a few websites, there are two source-specific image credit templates that you may use for your convenience when uploading images from Flickr or Wikimedia Commons. As with the general image credit template, you need to simply click on the links below the upload summary to start filling them out. They otherwise work just like the general image credit template described above.

Specify licensing!

The final step is to specify the file's particular license. Click on the drop down "Licensing" menu to select the appropriate licensing option. You must not skip this step because uploaded files lacking licensing information will be deleted. Only upload files if one of the following is true:

You are the author of the file you're uploading, and you're agreeing to release it according to our copyleft or to release it into the Public Domain (and thereby irrevocably release all ownership rights).

You are not the author of the file, but the author of the file has given you explicit permission to upload the file and release it under our copyleft. By explicit permission, you have to be able to prove written evidence from the author where it is obvious that the author has read and understood the terms for our copyleft license.

Under no circumstances should you upload a file if you don't know exactly who the author is, and you don't have explicit permission to release it under our copyleft. We do not want files uploaded under a hazy idea of "fair use." It is important that Wikitravel Shared stays free for everyone to use, and free of copyright violations; improperly attributed files will accordingly be deleted.

Licenses

There are a bunch of available licenses for files on Wikitravel, and they are a bit confusing. Here's a breakdown:

CC Attribution-ShareAlike

This is the basic licensing of the Wikitravel site. These licenses make your work available for anyone to use, redistribute, or create derivative works, provided they attribute the author and keep it under the same license. They're basically all the same, although CC-by-SA 1.0 is inferior since it is technically not forwards compatible with the other CC-by-SA licenses.

cc-by-sa-1.0|Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 (default for Wikitravel)

cc-by-sa-2.0|Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0

cc-by-sa-2.5|Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5

cc-by-sa-3.0|Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0

cc-by-sa-all|Any Attribution-ShareAlike (1.0 or above)

CC Attribution

Same as the above, only minus the ShareAlike clause—anyone redistributing your file or creating derivative works from it will not have to keep it under the same license (although they will still need to attribute you). So someone could create a new work from yours and claim copyright rights to it, although they would still have to say it was "based on work by John Doe."

cc-by-1.0|Attribution 1.0

cc-by-2.0|Attribution 2.0

cc-by-2.5|Attribution 2.5

cc-by-3.0|Attribution 3.0

Public Domain/No rights reserved

These are not technically licenses, they are statements abrogating all property rights to the file in question. If you choose this option, anyone can do whatever they please with the file, and will not have to attribute the author. Choose PD-self only if you are the author of the file. Choose PD-author if someone else created the file, but released it into the Public Domain himself. PD-fed is only for works created by the United States Federal Government.

PD-self|I am the creator of this image and hereby release it into the public domain

PD-author|This file was originally released into the public domain by its creator

PD-fed|Created by a US federal government employee during official duties

Dual GFDL-CC

We can't use GFDL licensed photos, the principal license used on Wikipedia. We can, however, use them if they have been dual licensed with a CC license. Choose dual-gfdl-cc-by-sa-any for anything higher than CC 1.0, since all later CC-by-SA licenses are inter-compatible with each other.